This will be short - just reading in the Boston Globe tonight, about a new trend washing across the US, with roofing services that will drop a large enough roofing crew to strip and redo your roof in a single day. Wow - having just had the pleasure of having my roof replaced last year (sideways rain over a week = not good, particularly with a 20-25 year old roof with vertically cracked, manufacturer defect shingles), this is pretty amazing.
Now, innovation is so frequently focused on a new product being delivered, and New Product Development (or NPD), gets a HUGE proportion of "innovation limelight" - but what about services? I hope to not experience having a roof redone any time soon, but apparently these services, like many in the housing/building industry (houses being built TO spec [yours], rather than ON spec [in hope of selling to someone, sometime soon] - AND faster, better, cheaper, higher margins, greater predictability, etc.), are significantly changing the landscape (pun not intended), and taking the true "professionals" to a much higher playing field.
Mr. Roof is one company providing the "one day roof" - these folks and their competitors aren't everywhere just yet, but the wave is coming - keep an eye out.
Don't forget - innovation comes in many shapes and flavors - don't obsess with PRODUCT innovation only, services and combined product/service innovations (think iPod, iTunes Music Store, iTunes and an ecosystem) are powerful as well.
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